Syrup & Honey
by alexanndria
Summary: au. during shore leave after the battle of the citadel ashley thinks up an interesting way to spend kaidan's birthday. ashley/f!shepard/kaidan. smut.


_**.: **syrup & honey** :.**_

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_Hips lurching, filling her up, his torso draped over her back, she's pinned by his arm steadying her hips, keeping her there for every single plunge. Her muffled gasps escape Ashley's mouth as she struggles to release herself from the constraints keeping her wrists bound together, arms pulled into the small of her back, her body bending, a sharp crossbow. He lifts his chest to watch them, Ashley lies her cheek down next to Shepard as she smirks up at him with a wicked smile._

* * *

**i.**

The idea manifests itself on a bright afternoon during the Citadel's agricultural crop harvest. Ashley just refers to it as spring.

Ashley steps into Shepard's apartment after knocking three times doesn't work; grabbing the key card from inside of her mailbox where Shepard had told them she kept it for emergencies. Which was pretty often because Shepard would never be able to find her head if it wasn't attracted to her neck. The Council set them up with generous accommodations. Ashley considers the apartments, tucked into a high ward untouched by the geth assault, a _'thanks for saving our asses. here's some nice shit. also could you not say anything about reapers to the press. thanks' _sort of present. She doesn't hear her commander until she passes the threshold. The sound is soft, a whisper Ashley wonders if she imagines.

The whisper escalates into a moan as she walks into Shepard's living room. Small keening cries emerging from a bedroom. Sounds of a bed creaking underneath the strain of something. Ashley knows Shepard is alone - considering she only saw Shepard's boots tucked into the corner as she entered. Which meant that maybe Skipper wasn't such an ice queen after all. Ashley chuckles at the thought. Ashley knew everyone has to pleasure themselves at some point. But, she thought, if anyone were above base urges it would be Shepard. Military born and breed, salute sharp and back ramrod straight. It was hard to imagine that same woman moaning out now.

Moans escape louder and faster, evaporating into a blanket of pleasure spread throughout. Squeaks accompany Shepard's wails, muffled now by a pillow, Ashley guesses. Ashley thinks that she should feel embarrassed, that maybe she should leave. But, it's not an option when her legs refuse to carry her away and her senses are keyed into Shepard. Ashley wonders how wet she is? Was she touching herself, or did she buy something to do it for her? Who was she thin -

"Kai -."

Ashley stops at that. Did she hear her right? Ashley slowly inches her way towards the door - pressing the side of her face into it, trying to immerse herself into the low moans inside.

"Kaidan. Oh, yes." Shepard's groans are louder now. Ashley pulls back with a smirk, that little minx. Now all of those private meetings and extra armor checks made so much more sense. She hadn't imagined Shepard's fingers lingering over Kaidan's shoulders or her hugs lasting a little bit too long and entirely to tight.

Ashley has never been the biggest fan of monogamy - she prefers to touch whomever she wants whenever she wants. As long as it still meant she has a warm body to come home to. Kaidan understood and agreed, to Ashley's surprise. Then again she knew he had eyes for another. One specific other. Who happened to be completely untouchable. Maybe that was one of the things he liked about her so much. Although, Ashley would have to reconsider the lieutenant's chances after this.

Minutes pass by before it's all over and Ashley can hear Shepard's panting, coming down from her high. Ashley walks to the front of the apartment, and opens the door before slamming it closed. She laughs to herself, throwing her body into Shepard's couch.

"Skipper," Ashley calls out, perching her ankles on the coffee table.

The door to the bedroom opens; Shepard stands in an Alliance standard issue blue cotton robe and disheveled hair. "Ash," Shepard says, a bit breathless. "What can I do for you?" Her eyes dart around the room franticly.

"I just wanted to ask you out to lunch to talk about the birthday thing," Ashley says, taking on a nonchalant tone.

"Oh right." Shepard puts a palm to her forehead, relaxing with a breath. She rubs the back of her neck, a habit she's picked up from Kaidan. "Do you already have a present in mind?"

Ashley places a hand to her chin, "Not quite. But, I'm sure I can think of something." She smiles to herself.

**ii.**

Ashley leads Shepard into the bathroom, pulling her by the wrist. Shepard hesitates slightly with confusion in her gaze but follows after Ashley when she tugs. The fluorescent light of the lavatory casts a medicinal glow over them. Renewed clarity allowing Ashley to see hints of red lace peeking over Shepard's dress enticingly. Ashley licks her lips, long and slow. It won't take Kaidan long to return, regardless of the fact that she sent him to the other side of the wards for something. He was suspicious, a suspicious Kaidan meant an inquisitive Kaidan, and she needs to make sure he doesn't come home until she has things exactly the way she wants them.

"Ash, what going on?" Shepard pulls her hand away after they cross the doorframe. "You're acting a little strange."

Ashley remains silent. Instead she rears Shepard into the vanity countertop, Shepard steps backward and lets out a small yelp when her back hits the marble. Ashley can hoist Shepard's small body with ease, dropping her bottom onto the sink's edge. Ashley places her hands down on either side of Shepard's body and stares into her eyes.

"What the hell is going on?" Shepard's voice takes that high-pitched tone she gets when she's embarrassed or confused or when she's talking to Kaidan in the dark corridors she thinks no one sees. Ash's smile is wicked, with underlying intentions. Shepard starts to shift her body, trying to find a way to free herself from Ashley's cage.

"I heard you fantasizing about my boyfriend last week." That stops her. Shepard is still and there is guilt in her eyes. Ashley laughs. "Don't worry, I'm not angry with you. It just gave me a bit of an idea."

"You're not?" Shepard blinks. "Wha - why not?" Ashley begins running the tips of her fingers down Shepard's legs, Shepard starts to rub her thighs together. "And what _'idea'_ are you talking about?"

"My my. You're so very inquisitive." Ashley positions herself at Shepard's eyeline. "Kaidan and I have - well I guess you can call it an agreement. He doesn't get upset when I fuck whoever I want to and I pretend not to notice him fawning over you." Shepard coughs out a small 'what?' or something of the nature as Ashley trails her fingers up the slope of Shepard's thighs.

"Don't act coy, Skipper. I know you two want each other bad. He's too 'noble' and concerned about his military future to ever say anything. You're too concerned about our relationship to betray my trust. And since I'm such a kind samaritan, I've decided to indulge both of you."

"Well, Kaidan isn't the one trying to get his finger into me right now," Shepard says with a raised eyebrow, she's reclaimed some of her confidence.

"What can I say, Commander. You have a certain charm about you. Maybe I wanted to see what Alenko is so obsessed with?"

Shepard opens her mouth, but closes it to dig into her lower lip as Ashley's hands disappear underneath her dress. Shepard's skin is soft, uncharacteristically so. It doesn't seem fitting for a woman forged with war and rage flowing through her veins. But, Ashley knows all women have their secrets. Ashley won't lie and say she's never watched Shepard flit throughout the ship. Wondering how her hips would writhe pinned down by her tongue or how her mouth would taste. Would she be loud or speak just as softly as she did during mess hall chatter?

Ashley doesn't look away from Shepard, pulling panties down her thighs slowly. She trails the path down with her mouth, lingering kisses on her flesh. Ashley climbs back up Shepard and claims her mouth, inch by inch, before plundering completely. Shepard tastes like the steak they had for dinner and feels like velvet. A grin breaks out on Ash's lips when Shepard laces her fingers through long brown hair, pulling Ashley closer. Shepard's tongue slips past her lips, the tip of it tentatively touching the roof of Ashley's mouth. It's wet and warm and Ashley feels Shepard attempting to subdue her, even out of battle she remains a conqueror. Ashley's fingers find their way past Shepard's folds, feeling the warmth there. Shepard moans into Ashley's mouth, tugging her hair tighter, her hips starting to rock against Ashley's finger stroking her slit.

Ashley eases down the top of the black dresses capturing Shepard's skin, the smooth curl of a breast slips out and Ashley palms it with her free hand. Ashley runs her hand along the smooth skin, loving how Shepard fits perfectly in the middle of her palm. Shepard grabs her around the shoulders when her mouth clamps down, tongue swirling around a nipple, drawing frantic breathes from Shepard. Ashley uses her thumb, massaging Shepard's clit three times, watching her arch until her hips barely touch the marble, completely supporting herself against Ash's weight. Ashley pulls away then.

"Hmm. I didn't think you'd be into this, Skipper." Ashley slips her thumb past her lips tasting Shepard on her tongue; she is sweet and juicy like the plump peaches her mother used to grow back on their farm. "You're soaking wet."

Shepard leans back against the vanity mirror and chuckles breathlessly. "I could say the same about you." She props herself up on her elbows. "Aren't you on that whole religious kick?"

Ashley slaps her palms down on Shepard's thighs hard enough so that it stings on pinpricks, leaving bright red marks in the shape of her hands. Shepard enjoys the pain, if it's any indication by the way she moans out, Ashley thinks that Kaidan and Shepard share many similarities behind closed doors.

"Haven't you ever heard that the quickest way to enlightenment is through orgasm?" Ashley takes an earlobe into her mouth, sucking melding into harsh bites as she forces Shepard's form fitting dress down her arms, trapping her with the long sleeves. There's a slight ripping sound before Ashley stands back again to marvel at her handiwork.

Half lidded eyes, lipstick askew, painting her face bloody, blush blooming like a brush stroke down her body. Her dress half ripped, bra crooked, exposing one breast to the cool air, the bottom half tucked under her ass and panties hooked onto her right ankle caught by the strap of her heels. Ashley enjoys the sight of Commander Shepard undone by her hand.

"You're going to pay for that dress," Shepard says, trying to free her arms. "It was a gift from Councilor Tevos."

"Shut up."

Ashley shoves her finger into Shepard's mouth; and without prompting a tongue moistens her fingers before Ashley releases them with a sharp pop. She kisses Shepard on the cheek, then runs her lips down her neck - sucking on heated flesh. She nips at the skin of Shepard's arms, cupping a breast. Fingers part Shepard's folds, glazing her hand with wetness; Shepard tries to push her hips into Ashley's finger wanting to be touched. Ashley waits, rubbing a finger up and down her slit, circling the center of her desire. Teasing her.

"Please," Shepard starts, draping her knees over bronzed shoulders without a thought when Ashley plunges her face into flossy curls. Ashley dives boldly, between her legs, that warm flesh of her desire; she enjoys making her writhe as she licks Shepard's quim with the flat expanse of her tongue. "Don't stop."

"Wasn't planning on it." Ashley cups Shepard's breast, "You need to be properly prepared."

Shepard releases a shaky laugh, pushing Ashley's face further between her valley, lighting up her sex with nips and bites along her clit. "This is quite a bit of preparation."

Ashley takes her tongue inside of Shepard, a palm shifting from heaving breasts, coming to rest on a flat muscled stomach, Ashley presses Shepard's torso down with a forceful push. Ashley's finger finds Shepard's entrance; she is hot against her mouth and Ashley grins when Shepard's fingers fight for a stronger grip on her hair, tugging viciously. Walls are tight around her fingers, contracting more and more with each snap of her digits. Shepard starts to release small cries again, tossing her head from side to side. Ashley knows Shepard is close, because she screams it, a sanguine flush of deep vermilion splattered along her high arches, pulling on Ashley so hard there's a fear of dislodging hair follicles.

"Believe me, you'll need it." Ashley mutters around the dampness and Shepard releases herself.

**iii.**

Softness surrounds him - the tangled limbs sprawled before him, the innerspring is soft, comfortable under the combined weight, Ashley's hands when she rises to greet him. The softest of all is Shepard, Kaidan thinks as he traces his index finger up her thigh, resting his palm against the round curve of her bottom, palming it.

"Ash, I don't know." Kaidan turns to Shepard's face, who licks her lips and arches herself off the bed, tied by the wrist and bent over at the waist, ass perched high. Moisture leaves his mouth as he thinks about claiming her. He anticipates that's she is probably extremely tight - Shepard doesn't seem the type to allow many men to bed her. He thinks about how amazing she would feel around his cock, fingers grasping at his back, breathless moans by his ear as he slips inside of her. Kaidan clenches his other fists to keep from touching her further, stilling the hand caressing her. It's a longing that makes him rest on his heels motionless.

"I know you want her. It's okay." Ashley wraps her arms around his torso; kissing up his neck, heaving breasts pressed into his side, "Don't deny it. Just let it happen."

"Are you sure?" Kaidan asks, directing his question to Shepard. He tentatively lifts another hand, mesmerized as he watches it bend against the curvature of her backside meeting it's other; there is softness here as well. _This is a dream. It cannot be happening. _

Shepard chuckles, her words a bit muffled by the pillow. "I'm lying here naked, with my ass in the air, tied up on your bed and you're asking me if I'm sure?"

"No one can say that the Lieutenant isn't anything but polite," Ashley mutters, crawling to Shepard and kissing her cheek.

Kaidan leans back, places hands on his hips, "Excuse me for trying to make sure all parties are on board."

"She doesn't want you to ask, she wants you to fuck her." Ashley throws her hands up in exasperation, Shepard nods.

"Fine," Kaidan snaps.

He trails a hand through the valley between Shepard's legs; she pushes back, rushing him, willing him to touch her where he knows she wants to be touched. But, Kaidan doesn't quicken his pace, he wants to savor this. When will he ever get the chance again? He's dreamed this, many a time of course. All the while never thinking he would actually see her body lit by evening fire or see her wetness thick and honeyed between her thighs. He is slow in his exploration of her, trying to decipher the way she likes being touched. Shepard makes a small whimpering sound when his fingers ease past her sex. _Definitely likes that. _

Ashley speaks and he remembers her presence, "If you're not gonna do anything, you can watch me do it. Just a suggestion," She adds when Kaidan purses his lips, rolling his eyes at their impatience, but crawls forward despite this.

He mounts Shepard, pulling up her waist, dropping her shoulders, all while trying to study the architecture of her body. The deep arches, matching cheekbones as high as grand cathedral ceilings, brightly lit eyes, which roll up into her head when he spreads her outer lips. He has been hard since arriving home to see them sprawled out on his bed, waiting. A gift, Ashley had said. He runs his cock up and down Shepard's slit, coating himself with her wetness, already soaking before he touches her. Shepard groans with impatience, trying again to push her pelvis closer to his, but he steadies her with his right hand.

Shepard is slick when he slides into her, slick and tight, and he almost comes right there from the unbarring suffocation her warmth gives. Kaidan digs his fingers into her hips, as she growls, actually growls as if she is a wild animal and he is to be her lion tamer. Her back arches itself again and he slams her back down to the bed with his body. Ashley touches him with deft fingers, gripping his face, kissing him deeply so he tastes desire on her tongue. Shepard somehow finds a way to shift her hips just so, bringing him deeper inside of her causing him to pull away from Ash's lips, letting out harsh breaths. Ashley laughs then leans down to stroke Shepard's hair, hushing her escalating moans with a hot, wet mouth.

With the object of his lust sprawled before him, it's hard for Kaidan to control himself. Hips lurching, filling her up, his torso draped over her back, she's pinned by his arm steadying her hips, keeping her there for every single plunge. Her muffled gasps escape Ashley's mouth as she struggles to release herself from the constraints keeping her wrists bound together, arms pulled into the small of her back, her body bending, a sharp crossbow. He lifts his chest to watch them, Ashley lies her cheek down next to Shepard as she smirks up at him with a wicked smile.

"Untie me." Shepard commands where she has no place to, taking on her military voice, the sound of it shooting straight to his cock. Because he thinks of taking her at her throne atop the CIC with everyone watching, their leader getting dominated repeatedly. But luckily this isn't the Normandy, and she isn't in command, he is, and he plans to take full advantage it.

"Can't do that, Commander." Kaidan whispers to her ear, bending his face, touching his cheek to hers. Shepard tightens around him, she whines again, this time pushing her hips into his, Kaidan smirks. "You like that don't you. The idea of your entire crew watching me do this to you." Three headshakes and a particularly stubborn stalling of her hips is his answer, until her moans and a small shiver betrays her. "Oh, I think you do. Because who would risk denying the amazing Commander Shepard, sa - savior of the citadel, first human spectre." Less moans escape, more staccato hitched breaths. "No one. Except me."

"Oh fuck." Shepard maneuvers her face away from the pillow when Ashley claims her lips once more. He wants to control her. Wants to destroy her, tear her apart with the blind passion he has tucked away inside his secret universe.

He continues to push into her repeatedly, latching his mouth onto the skin of her neck, until she starts to trash about, inner muscles contracting around him. Kaidan pushes Shepard's hips back down to the mattress, causing her to grunt, and Ashley to soothe her by stroking hair, leaving small kisses around Shepard's face, The sight does something to him, draping his body over Shepard's once more, cushioned by her pert backside, hands clasped around a rounded waist, her face moving away from Ashley's, shifting wildly against the pillow. The sheathing of her cunt starts to jutter around him as she comes, hot and silken and it will only take him a few more seconds inside of this rapture to join her enlightenment, so he stops, releases her and pulls away, breathing heavily as he rests on his heels, cock glistening and bouncing against his chest.

Suddenly, Ashley pulls Shepard over onto her back, who follows with a lackadaisical heaviness to her body, her arms are still clasped behind her with rope, but she's stopped struggling against it. Ashley buries her face into Shepard's perfect breasts, full and round with hardened peaks, inhaling skin he knows smells like fresh honey and earth's summer rainwater, unexpected for a child born amongst the stars. Ash runs her tongue up Shepard's clavicle, palming plump curves around her face.

Kaidan grabs Ash by the waist, pulling her off of Shepard, who doesn't notice because she's staring straight past the ceiling with wide eyes and erratic breaths, and flings her onto her back, pinning her. He kisses his way down Ashley's stomach, tongue swirling around her navel, dragging his lips along her thighs.

"You're completely perverted, you know that?" Kaidan doesn't look away from her eyes, his lips touching the thatch of hair, perched above her sex.

"Yes, I do happen to know that," Ashley says, gripping his hair fiercely, "And I also happen to know that you love it." Kaidan merely smirks as he nudges his nose past her labia.

Ashley rocks her pelvis against his face when he slips his tongue into her, thick with the taste of maple sap that makes him think of sprawling woodland trees behind his parents winter home - his hands running across the ageless bark, imaging the stories that forest can whisper to him. He finds the same escape between bronzed legs, time and time again in secludes alcoves of the ship during quiet hours. When he set the bomb off that day on Virmire, with the sun's glow burning his face, he'd resigned himself to death, knowing it would save her. Closing his eyes, hoping for a quick death, happy to go out with more than a whisper. But, when he opened his eyes Shepard was there, lifting him. Panic settled into his heart, he thrashed against her, willing her to save the other, not me, _save the other_. Shepard grabbed his shoulders, stared straight into his eyes and said, "She's fine." and it set him at ease.

Ashley throws her head back, tumbling hair past her shoulders thick as the raven's nests he'd find among the branches, black as it's inhabitants. His name falls from her lips, lingering on the syllables, moaning through the structure of his identity. She's so beautiful, one of the most beautiful things he's ever seen. Shepard's beauty while comparable - he's thought she was beautiful since the first second her hands touched his the day she boarded, a static shock lingering between - cannot be more different.

Shepard possesses a wild, terrible, fearsome beauty, uncontainable by any one person, threatening to burn a man to ashes with it's intensity. Her breath pauses when he slips a finger past her entrance, a leg lifting coquettishly, closing her thighs over his hand. He thrusts into her with two fingers soon after, massaging her clit with his thumb, her inner muscles contracting around him, enjoying her returning blush.

Ashley's moan when he hums against her cunt, tunes him into her approaching climax. He drives his tongue in and out of her, watching Ash's face as she culminates. Quickened breaths muddling into loud groans, rising in intensity every time she opens her mouth. Her head hits the pillow after, while Kaidan brushes her essence with his tongue completely.

Ashley licks her release from his mouth when he hovers her with a bright sheen on his face and a proud smile; she's raising an eyebrow as she notices his hardness pressed against her belly. She cants her head from him to stare at Shepard, whose breathing has finally regulated, coming down off of her orgasmic high, moaning loudly when the fingers he has inside of her curl, melting her. Ashley turns back to him and smirks, nodding towards Shepard, licking her lips for good measure.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" Kaidan whispers atop her kiss bruised lips, "To watch me fuck her again."

"Ma - maybe," She manages to breathe out when he rubs himself against her.

Kaidan falls back with a smirk, before crawling over Shepard, pushing her legs apart with his free hand, making sure to keep his fingers curling inside of her. Shepard drops her gaze from the ceiling, mewling with the attention. He replaces the finger with his mouth and finally has a chance to devour her. She tastes sweet like honey and shivers as the tip of his tongue touches her clit. She struggles against her constraints again, calming little as Kaidan eases his hands up to palm her breasts, in fact it seems to excite her even more.

_Love is an energy_, he thinks when Shepard digs her heel into his back, and_ they're draining me_. Drawing him down towards a dark unknown, without light. Nothing, he finds nothing there, only them.

Where Shepard is the queen, Ashley the princess and he fulfills his role as the knight neither of them need. Reaching behind Shepard's body his rips a wrist out of the rope confines and threads his fingers through hers. He catches a glimpse of beautiful deep-seated purple setting over her skin; the bruising matched on her other wrist as he sees it emerge to slide down Ashley's cheek.

Shepard's climax comes quicker than Ashley's; it only takes a few well-placed long strokes to undo her. Her legs quake, her feet curl and her head rises up. But, he stops before she can reach her precipice. Shepard drops her head, lifting her chin just so, to glower at him. He laughs at her displeasure.

"Aww, Kaidan don't tease her," Ash chides.

"Fucking asshole," Shepard breathes out.

Kaidan, ignoring them, climbing Shepard's body, placing his mouth over hers so she can taste herself in him. She holds his face to hers, moving her mouth against his, arching her hips causing his cock to brush against her entrance. Kaidan shivers, he has never wanted like this before, he's drunk and almost dizzy with the madness her pleasure brings him. He doesn't know if he will ever experience Shepard this intimately again. To have her whispering ecstasies into his ear, drawing blood from him with her fingertips.

"I love you." His whispers itch against her ear. Kaidan isn't sure why he even utters the words, except for the simple truth that her needs her to hear them. Needs her to know. Shepard doesn't look away from his eyes, Kaidan searches for her soul underneath the mask of her humanity. And as she kisses him he feels everything peel away, letting him into her, allowing him touch her more intimately than any other has before and any other will after. He doesn't break the stare as he eases his body into hers once again.

He feels close to the divine inside of her. The chimerical wonder of her flesh meeting with his reality. Shepard is straining at the seams from the struggle of two extremes within her spirit. She is chaos but she is also savior, the two trying to settle themselves inside of her soul. His hips snap spasmodically, as he fucks her harsh and fast, unsympathetic in his havoc. Shepard is shattering underneath him, small gasps, transforming into low moans before emerging as discordant screams.

Ashley teases him with a chuckle, "Seems someone is a bit eager. Slow it down LT before you break her."

But he can't, he can't stop, he won't stop. Shepard pulls him closer, crescent moons bruising his skin. He thrusts into her again and again, snatching her face away from Ashley lips, bringing his mouth down to Shepard's with bruising force, swallowing her cries, using his face to press her deeper into the pillow underneath her crown. His tongue finds hers, screams melting down into desperate whimpers, he pulls himself away to hear her fully.

"More, more, oh yes," Shepard shouts, drawing their foreheads together, and scratching down his neck. He obliges her, lifts her legs so that they rest on his shoulders, kissing her calf. She tries to pull him down, attempting to wrap her body around him.

Kaidan can die like this, right now, with no regrets. Her mouth tastes like heaven and her tongue, usually whippish and clever, pushes against his. A slender hand snakes a path between them, Kaidan looks down in time to see Ashley slip her finger against Shepard's clit, stroking it with a kindness, then Shepard screams, shrill and loud, thrashing her head about like a madwoman.

Kaidan drops down, trapping Ash's wrist between them, Shepard's ankles coming dangerously close to the side of her head. He's burning, a raging inferno and he wants nothing more than to continue fucking her until she screams, until there is nothing else in the world but the three of them. All he thinks of is the sweetness inside of Shepard's cunt, milking him as she comes with a howl and when she arches he pulls her up, placing her on his knees, staring into her eyes as her fucks up into her over and over and ov -

Kaidan meets his undoing, desperately clasped around Shepard's lithe body, face pressed into her shoulder, a small wet tongue making it's way up his spine, he's stilling inside of Shepard as he feels his release coat her walls. Her mouth is open with calming breaths; her fingers curling over his shoulders, as he guides them back down to the bed. Shepard leaves lingering kisses on his face and he feels Ashley rise, a ritual she always has after, sounds of running water following her. The need to cleanse herself.

Shepard slides her fingers into his damp hair, pushing a wayward lock out of his face. He kisses her until the air has disappeared from his lungs, kisses her until her mouth melts underneath and her nails graze down his face. He needs to touch her everywhere, lest he find himself on the other side of what must be a paradise he's manufactured. No, Shepard feels real as she clutches him closer, trying to breathe through him and he knows it's because she doesn't want to let go either.

"Jesus Christ, Kaidan." Ashley exclaims as she climbs back onto the bed with dampened hair. "At least pull out before you suffocate her with your mouth."

Shepard laughs, a brilliant sound that has her breath ticking the side of his face. Shepard kisses Kaidan's nose sweetly before pushing him off, he falls down beside her, wasting no time to grab her waist and pull her back into him. He rests his chin on her shoulder, lingering his lips on her skin, seeing Ashley curl up to Shepard's other side. He mouths, _'I love you',_ and Ashley does nothing but blow him a playful kiss and a wink, threading her left hand through Shepard's right.

Some might judge them. He knows he certainly would if he wasn't in the situation himself. But, as he watches two women he has unfathomable love for, he can't see anything wrong in it, in this. At the end they are together. He sighs and snuggles into Shepard, who reaches her free hand up to thread his hair, he reaches for Ashley's fingers over Shepard and while she doesn't open her eyes, her hand tightens over his.

Togetherness. It's a good thing.


End file.
